Month: February 2016

If anyone ever tells you that training for a marathon is easy: DON’T BELEIVE THEM because it isn’t!  After around two weeks of almost no running due to illness, I ventured out to do a “long run”.  Because I wasn’t really sure what I could (or could not) do, I chose a route where I could bail-out if things got too tough.   In the end I was pleased to achieve 13 miles, but given my marathon training programme has me down for 17 today, it goes to show what two weeks off can do to you.  And, it was SO HARD!  It demonstrated to me that when you reach a certain level, you get tricked into thinking that a 1/2 marathon distance is no big deal and then you find out it is!

Forget the time, running a Marathon is an awesome undertaking and today reminded me of the reason I first decided do try, which was to understand just what it takes!  That moment was just as I finished my first half marathon in Leeds (2008) when I thought “how is it possible for anyone to run a single extra step, let alone carry on and do it again?”.  When I finished doing 13 miles today I remembered that moment.

Right now, my goal for London is to get round and there is no shame in that.  My method is to keep my cool and do the training, take the advice of the physio (who I see again on Friday).  Remember, you can make plans but sometimes life throws the unexpected at you, when it does you can’t fight it but you can adapt and as for me, I’ll just get on with it.

A cold and frosty morning greeted me today on my return to running as I went round Temple Newsam parkrun with Helen.  I wimped out of running to parkrun which was probably a good idea since although it was slow (for both of us), it still felt like relatively hard going!  Since the parkrun was taken-over by Crossgates Harriers, there was cake afterwards so that was nice.  When we got home I did complete my planned 8 miles by an easy out and back.  This still felt hard and I’m hoping it’s because of the tail end of my cold – surely I can’t have lost that much fitness in two weeks!

That’s now a total of 11.5 miles for the month and a planned long run tomorrow.  I won’t disclose how long that’s supposed to be, we’ll just see how far I get!

100 to do in Febuary can we do it? Yes we can!

After a torrid few weeks struggling with a persistent cold, I received a real boost today.  Today was my appointment with Dr A Hogarth at LGI, about a year and a month after he performed a cardiac ablation to treat my irratic heartbeat.

When I saw a very young man enter the office, I thought for a moment that I was being fobbed off with a Junior but a few moments later the man himself popped his head round the door and invited me in.   It was a low-key appointment; a chat really and I didn’t even need to go for an ECG!  Since the operation, I’ve had no problem with my heart at all; in fact as I told the good doctor I’ve not had a single heartbeat out of place.  He said to the student “there you go; it works!”   He went on to say that from people who go one year without problems, 75% will stay that way.  If in the future it ever came back then they can do the procedure again, which isn’t as daunting as it was originally but not that attractive, so I rather hope it’s cured for good!  The Doctor is optimistic and so he discharged me.

Although things haven’t really changed since yesterday, I do feel like this is an important milestone and I can move on.  I need to pick up my marathon training now because I still have to achieve my 100 miles in February and I’ve only done 3.5 miles to date!  But if I follow my training programme then I shall achieve 100.5 so I’m still on target (just).

As for Dr.Hogarth and his team, I owe them a massive vote of thanks.  He was delighted that I am running the London Martathon for the British Heart Foundation and I hope we can raise some money so many more people can be successfully treated for heart conditions like me!